The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category. Stripe sets this cookie cookie to process payments. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. president Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931, which was signed by President Herbert Hoover.įrancis Scott Key and John Stafford Smith "The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today. With a wide tone range, it is known for being very difficult to sing. This setting, renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", soon became a well-known U.S. "To Anacreon in Heaven" or "The Anacreontic Song", with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Sing 'The Star Spangled Banner' with the courtesy and humility that tells the audience that it is about America, not you.Īnd please not everything needs to be spunked up! We’re getting a little weary of that.įrancis Scott Key does not need any help."The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. They could see that from your costume, makeup and your entourage. Sing it as if you are standing before a row of 96-year-old WWII vets wearing their Purple Hearts, Silver Stars and flag pins on their cardigans and you want them to be proud of you for honoring them and the country they love - not because you want them to think you are a superstar musician. Don't make them cringe with your self-centered ego gratification. Just sing this song the way you were taught to sing it in kindergarten - straight up, no styling "Sing it with the constant awareness that there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines watching you from bases and outposts all over the world. "So with all the kindness I can muster, I give this one piece of advice to the next pop star who is asked to sing the national anthem at a sporting event: save the vocal gymnastics and the physical gyrations for your concerts. I think he'd be ok with Whitney and Gaga's renditions. This message is from a Marine Corps Colonel in Afghanistan.